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An overview of maritime logistics: trends and

research agenda

Seçil Gülmez, Gül Denktaş Şakar & Sedat Baştuğ

To cite this article: Seçil Gülmez, Gül Denktaş Şakar & Sedat Baştuğ (2023) An overview of
maritime logistics: trends and research agenda, Maritime Policy & Management, 50:1, 97-116,
DOI: 10.1080/03088839.2021.1962557

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Published online: 09 Aug 2021.

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MARITIME POLICY & MANAGEMENT
2023, VOL. 50, NO. 1, 97–116
https://doi.org/10.1080/03088839.2021.1962557

An overview of maritime logistics: trends and research agenda

a b c
Seçil Gülmez , Gül Denktaş Şakar and Sedat Baştuğ
a
Barbaros Hayrettin Naval Architecture and Maritime Faculty, Iskenderun Technical University, Central Campus,
Iskenderun, Hatay, Turkey; bMaritime Faculty, Dokuz Eylul University, Izmir, Turkey; cBarbaros Hayrettin Naval
Architecture and Maritime Faculty, Iskenderun Technical University, Iskenderun, Hatay, Turkey

ABSTRACT KEYWORDS
The increasing importance of maritime transportation in entire logistics Maritime Logistics;
flows have increased the interest in maritime logistics. Despite the grow­ Systematic Literature
ing body of the literature on this emerging discipline, there is lack of a Review; Content Analysis;
detailed investigation regarding the categorization and emerging topics. Citation Analysis; Research
Agenda
The primary aim of this study is to analyse the advances in the literature
and to suggest a research agenda for this concept by exploring the main
research domains in this phenomenon. To achieve these aims, this study
adopts content analysis-based review method to examine the concept
and citation analysis to explore the latent structure of maritime logistics.
The research streams have been obtained through two databases; the
main themes, highlighted topics, and related analytical categories have
been investigated through content analysis. Citation and co-citation ana­
lysis were conducted to understand the intellectual structure of the
studies and the relationship of the analytical categories. The study pre­
sents a comprehensive synthesis of existing research suggesting a sys­
tematic source of information for both scholars and practitioners, shaping
the future research agenda. The findings indicate that there is an increas­
ing emphasis on design, optimization, and planning of port and ship
operations while sustainability and marketing perspectives are somehow
neglected in the researches.

1. Introduction
Maritime transport, as a critical component of global supply chains, has reached a volume of 11
billion tonnes (UNCTAD 2019). Maritime transportation’s role has switched from the pure
shipment of various cargoes to the effective and efficient delivery of diversified logistics services
such as warehousing, material handling, inventory management, and packaging. Due to the
integration of maritime transport activities with logistics processes, a term called ‘maritime logis­
tics’ has emerged, and it has been considered in the maritime transport system deeply involved in
the overall logistics flows (Lee, Nam, and Song 2012). Several factors that have shifted the focus on
the maritime logistics concept are as follows: a rapid increase in world trade, the emergence of
containerization (Panayides and Song 2013), alliances among and the integration of shipping lines,
port privatization, the global expansion of maritime transport operations, deregulation, and the
increasing importance of information technology and digitization (Song and Panayides 2015)
In light of such triggering factors, maritime logistics has attracted considerable interest from
both scholars and practitioners. Panayides 2006) made the first attempt to define maritime logistics

CONTACT Seçil Gülmez secil.gulmez@iste.edu.tr Barbaros Hayrettin Naval Architecture and Maritime Faculty,
Iskenderun Technical University, Central Campus, Iskenderun, Hatay
This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.
© 2021 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group
98 S. GÜLMEZ ET AL.

by highlighting the need for an understanding of the scope and characteristics of the ‘logistics’ and
‘maritime transport’ terms. As Song and Panayides (2015) argued, the term maritime logistics is not
easy to define due to its multifaceted approach embodying three main areas: maritime transport,
traditional logistics activities such as warehousing and distribution centre services, and integrated
logistics services (e.g., labelling, packaging, assembly) (Nam and Song 2011). Following this
perspective, various topics have been interlinked to maritime logistics such as: maritime logistics
value (Song and Lee 2012), knowledge management (Lee and Song 2010; Song and Lee 2012; Lee
and Song 2015; Kalogeraki et al. 2018) and supply chain integration (Yuen and Thai 2017). The
maritime logistics concept has also provided considerable insight to practitioners in terms of
rethinking their business processes, such as establishing close relationships with customers, focus­
ing on the capabilities to achieve a supply chain-oriented maritime transport system (Lam and
Zhang 2014), understanding the importance of integrated logistics services adding value to custo­
mers’ supply chain processes and intermodal transport services (Song and Panayides 2015).
Prior work has documented the significance of maritime logistics, and an initial review of the
maritime transport and port literature seeking to achieve a foundation for clarifying the maritime
logistics concept was conducted by Panayides 2006) and Panayides and Song 2013). The recent
research on maritime logistics shows that there is an ongoing and expanding pattern in maritime
logistics-related dimensions. This also results in the emergence of subcategories, however, these
subcategories have not been discussed herein in order to obtain an in-depth understanding of the
emerging topics which shows the need to revise and update the related literature in maritime
logistics. For instance, in the port operations, studies concentrate not only on port performance but
also on analysing equipment scheduling, berth and yard allocation, manpower planning, cargo
sequencing. Such diversification in each category calls for renewed interest in the analysis of
emerging topics and the interrelation of these topics with each other. Considering recent changing
research streams and foci in the maritime logistics field, suggestions for an updated study of
maritime logistics through a systematic literature review (SLR) including content analysis, citation
analysis and co-citation analysis are the main motivation of this study. As such, this study is
motivated to narrow the research gap by answering the following research questions:
1. How is the current outlook in maritime logistics research with regards to years of publication,
research methods and authors?
2. What are the main research themes and upcoming trends in the maritime logistics domain?
3. What are the emerging seminal research clusters in the maritime logistics research?
4. What are the elements of a future research agenda in the maritime logistics field?
This research applies a content analysis methodology to conduct a SLR of maritime logistics. The
authors first conduct a SLR in order to provide an outlook regarding the current state of maritime
logistics research. Second, citation analysis is adopted to determine the common research interests,
influence patterns, and relevance of specific themes in maritime logistics; a future research agenda is
suggested based on the findings of the study. The remainder of the article is organized as follows.
Section 2 provides the explanation regarding the methodology of the study and is followed by
Section 3 presenting the findings of the content analysis, and citation and co-citation analyses.
Section 4 presents the discussion and the agenda for future research. Academic and practical
implications are explained in Section 5. The last section concludes the paper with a discussion of
the insights that the literature provides in terms of the research questions and provides suggestions
for future work, the main contributions and the limitations of the study.

2. Research methodology
This study employs SLR that follows the steps as; content analysis processes, citation and co-citation
analyses (see Figure 1).
In the first part of the methodology, the systematic literature review was conducted to delimit the
gaps by identifying, evaluating, and combining the maritime logistics research to examine the status
 MARITIME POLICY & MANAGEMENT 99

Material Collection
-Database Selection
-Keyword Identification
Systematic Literature Review

-Paper Selection
Citation Analysis
Content Analysis

Descriptive Analysis
-Deductive Approach Co-Citation Analysis
-Formation of Seminal Clusters and the Network
-PageRank Measure
Category Selection and Material Evaluation -Betweenness Centrality Analysis

-Inductive Approach
-Open Coding Inter-Coder Check
-Creating Categories
-Abstraction Future Research Agenda

Expert Panel

Figure 1. Research Methodology Diagram.

quo of the maritime logistics concept (Petticrew and Roberts). Once conducting SLR, Seuring and
Gold (2012) methodology was followed. This methodology accepts the content analysis as an
effective tool for performing a systematic and transparent literature review and proposes 4 steps
for content analysis, namely material collection, descriptive analysis, category selection, and
material evaluation. Following such predefined processes guides the researcher throughout the
literature review process.
During the content analysis process, both deductive and inductive approaches were adopted.
The reason for combining these two approaches is the flexibility they provide at different stages. In
the deductive approach, researchers define a priori design protocol for coding the related informa­
tion and classifies the content into the predetermined categories based on the existing theory or
knowledge (Krippendorff 2018). The inductive approach, on the other hand, is utilized when there
is not enough knowledge about the subject. It allows for emerging the codes from the literature and
involves open coding, creating category and abstraction processes (Elo and Kyngas 2007).
Following the content analysis, citation analysis, and co-citation analysis were employed
together in the second part of the methodology. Citation analysis reveals the relationship between
documents by analysing the frequency, graphics, and various citation patterns in documents
(Thanuskodi 2012). Besides, co-citation analysis is a semantic similarity measure for documents
that uses citation relationship. This analysis includes tracking a combination of papers that are cited
together in the source studies which provides the visualization of the intellectual structure of the
documents (Small 1973). The visualization logic is based on research clusters which are formed
through co-citation of the same pairs of papers by many authors. Observing co-occurrences
between articles is useful to understand which articles occur together or simultaneously.

3. Findings
Findings of the study are provided in two main sections as findings of content analysis and findings
of citation and co-citation analyses.
100 S. GÜLMEZ ET AL.

3.1. Findings of the content analysis

3.1.1. Material collection
The data collection process consisted of three main processes encompassing database selection,
keyword identification, and paper selection according to inclusion and exclusion criteria. The
material research process started with the determination of the sample characteristics. To address
the concept with a broader perspective and to investigate all grounded themes of maritime logistics,
the steps shown in Figure 2 are followed.
The initial research string was searched in predefined databases by filtering only peer-reviewed
articles. The subject was searched in the title, abstract, author keywords, and content of the paper in
all fields. Our search query was performed covering the period from 1960 to the end of March 2019
in Scopus, and from 1975 to the end of March 2019 in Web of Science. The reason for choosing only
peer-reviewed papers is to eliminate the authors’ subjectivity and the relativeness of the approaches
to maritime logistics. These papers are regarded as crucial information sources since they pass
Database
Selection

Web of Science Scopus

Maritime* AND Logistics* “Maritime” AND “Logistics”

In title, abstract, author In title, abstract, author
Search 1

keyword and full paper keyword and full paper

Keyword Identification

764 Papers 768 Papers

Keyword Revision

Maritime Logistics*
Search 2

“Maritime Logistics”
In title, abstract, author In title, abstract, author
keywords and full paper keywords and full paper

143 Papers 155 Papers

Inclusion:
Paper Availability
Paper Selection

English Language

Exclusion by Manual Checking:

Mislabelled papers (book chapters, conference papers etc.)
Duplicate Papers

Final Sample: 137 Peer-Reviewed Articles

Figure 2. Material Collection Procedure.

 MARITIME POLICY & MANAGEMENT 101

through a review process in which relevance and quality subjects can be judged (Easterby-Smith et
al. 2018).

3.1.2. Descriptive analysis

In this stage of content analysis, deductive approach was adopted to categorize articles. Similar to
the SLR of which adopted the deductive approach, an initial categorization scheme was formed.
Two authors were selected for coding the papers according to the priori scheme. Firstly, the papers
were deductively coded to the priori scheme independently, then results were compared. The
reason for employing independent coding in this stage is to eliminate the possible influences of
the authors when they perform open coding in the category selection process. Descriptive analysis
of the papers is illustrated below.

3.1.3. Studies according to years of publication

Studies including ‘maritime logistics’ string started in 2005. The majority of the articles, as shown in
Figure 3, were conducted from 2016 to 2019. The articles were published in various international
journals in various disciplines; in particular, the focus was on more classical transportation journals.
As shown in Figure 3, there is an increasing number of studies in the maritime logistics literature.

3.1.4. Types of methodologies applied in these studies

Most of the research, as shown in Figure 4, is based on integer programming (22 articles). Integer
programming can be used in many application areas, such as route selection, route scheduling,

35

30 30
25
21
20 19
17 17
15
11
10 8
7
5
5 3 4
1 1 1
0
2005 2006 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

Figure 3. Distribution of Studies According to Years of Publication.

25 22
19
20 17
15 12
10 8 8
5 6 5
4 3
5 1 1 2 3 2 3 3 2 3
1 2 1
3
1 1 1 1 1 2 1
0

Figure 4. Research Methods Applied in Maritime Logistics Studies.

 102

Table 1. Categories in Maritime Logistics Literature with Frequency Distributions

M.C.* Subcategories Freq. Description Reference**
PORT OPERATIONS Equipment Planning 350 Includes equipment assignment and scheduling Abou Kasm and Diabat (2019a); Abou Kasm and Diabat
that refer to assigning port equipment to a (2019b); Al-Dhaheri and Diabat (2015); Al-Dhaheri and
S. GÜLMEZ ET AL.

related job and organizing operations of Diabat (2017); Beens and Ursavas (2016); Cavalcante et
equipment respectively. al. (2016); Chen and Lau (2011); Garro et al. (2015);
Zheng et al. (2018); Exposito-Izquierdo, (2017); Hu et al.
(2016); Samer et al. (2019); Kasm et al. (2019)
Berth Allocation 10,122 Allocating the incoming vessels to available Abou Kasm and Diabat (2019b); Al-Hammadi and Diabat
berth regarding its position at quay (2015); Alzaabi and Diabat (2016); Cavalcante et al.
(2016); Jos et al. (2019); Lassoued and Elloumi (2019); Lu
et al. (2016); Robenek et al. (2014); Venturini et al. (2017);
Liu et al. (2016); Samer et al. (2019); Kasm et al. 2019
Yard Assignment 539 Includes the decisions that regard storage Lu et al. (2016); Robenek et al. (2014); Liu et al. (2016)
location and material routing with the aim of
maximizing storage efficiency of a yard
Equipment Performance 350 Associated with reducing GHG (greenhouse gas Fahdi et al. (2019); Yang and Chang (2013)
emissions, operating costs, noise, pollution,
and energy-saving considerations
Block Relocation/Cargo Sequencing 1,200 Finding the shortest movement sequence which Exposito-Izquierdo (2017)
aims retrieving the containers
Port Performance 359 Involves efficiency and effectiveness of the port Elentably (2017); Jiang and Li (2009); Min, Ahn, Lee and
operations Park (2017); Priadi et al. (2014); Schellinck and Brooks
(2016); Seo et al. (2016); Yang and Shen (2013); Zerbino
et al. (2019); Zhen (2016); Zhen et al. (2016); Panayides
and Song (2013); Min et al. (2017a)
Manpower Planning 348 Determination of activities, shifts and tasks of Di Francesco et al. (2016a); Di Francesco et al. (2016b)
manpower which is not imbricated by
personnel shifts
Capacity 100 States physical capacity of ports (storage, berth) Pujawan et al. (2015); Koskinen and Hilmola (2005); Vojdani
that effects throughput of port and Lootz (2012)
Total 13,168
(Continued)
Table 1. (Continued).
SHIP OPERATIONS Stowage Planning 520 Refers to planning of container position on the Ambrosino et al. (2009); Ambrosino et al. (2015); Chou and
ship Fang (2018); Christensen and Pacino (2017); Christensen
et al (2019); Roberti and Pacino (2018)
Fleet management (Ship Type, Sailing 10,46 Includes fleet planning and designing the ship Bruzzone and Bocca (2012); Mzee and Gurumo (2012); Park
Frequency, Ship Capacity, Fleet activities such as deciding on ship type, and Min (2017); Psaraftis and Kontovas (2010); Pujawan
Deployment) sailing frequency, ship capacity, and fleet et al. (2015); Schinas and Stefanakos (2012); Zis and
deployment. Psaraftis (2019)
Ship Routing 204 Finding optimal routes for the fleets Coccola and Mendez (2013); De et al. (2019); Kelareva et al.
(2014); Kisialiou et al. (2018); Komarudin et al. (2017);
Kontovas (2014); Karimi and Srinivasan (2010); Malaguti
et al. (2018); Norlund and Gribkovskaia (2017); Norlund
and Gribkovskaia (2015); Park and Min (2017); Psaraftis
and Kontovas (2014), Tran (2011); Vojdani and Lootz
(2012); Wibisono and Jittamai (2015); Dinwoodie et al.
(2014); Schinas and Stefanakos (2012); Komarudin et al.
(2017); Lee et al. (2018b); Tran (2011); Wei and Dong
(2019); Wu et al. (2019); Lee et al. (2018); van Hassel et al.
(2016); Yang and Sung (2016); Zis and Psaraftis (2019);
Zhu et al. (2014); Ferrari et al. (2006); Nam and Song
(2011); Summers (2016); Panayides and Song (2013);
Chandra et al. (2013)
Ship Scheduling 4,320 Aims to minimize the total voyage time of the Coccola and Mendez (2013); De et al. (2019); Hill et al.
ship (2019); Hwang et a. (2008); Kelareva et al. (2014);
Kisialiou et al. (2018); Kobayashi and Kubo (2010);
Bruzzone and Bocca (2012); Kontovas (2014); Karimi and
Srinivasan (2010); Norlund and Gribkovskaia (2017);
Norlund and Gribkovskaia (2015); Scholz-Reiter et al.
(2011); Vojdani and Lootz (2012)
Speed Optimization 179 Optimizing sailing speed of a ship aimed at Lee, H. et al (2018); Mzee and Gurumo (2012); Norlund and
mainly reducing both fuel consumption and Gribkovskaia (2017); Norlund and Gribkovskaia (2015);
emissions Oh and Karimi (2010); Psaraftis and Kontovas (2010);
Psaraftis and Kontovas (2014); Venturini et al. (2017);
Wibisono and Jittamai (2015); Zis and Psaraftis (2019)
Cargo Mix 3,220 Positioning containers onto the ship depending Christensen and Pacino (2017); Christensen et al. (2019)
on possible container load
Vessel Maintenance Programming 1,530 Arranging the schedule of vessel’s maintenance Kian et al. (2019)
MARITIME POLICY & MANAGEMENT

operations
Total 11,019
(Continued)
103
 104
S. GÜLMEZ ET AL.

Table 1. (Continued).
HINTERLAND LOGISTICS Vehicle Routing 2,301 Minimizing empty trips in the hinterland Islam and Olsen (2014)
Intermodalism 1,052 The consequence of physical integration of Jugović et al. (2014); Clott and Hartman (2016); Zis and
different transport modes Psaraftis (2019); Nam and Song (2011); Panayides and
Song (2013)
Port Connectivity/Accessibility 2,155 Land-based connectivity i.e. connection to Lee et al. (2018a,b); Clott and Hartman (2016); Panayides
modal infrastructures (dry ports) and railway and Song (2013)
connection of ports
Hinterland Network (Inland Connectivity, 2,714 Refers to effective flow of cargo along the Chen et al. (2018); Islam (2017); Islam and Olsen (2014); Wei
Infrastructure, Positioning Landside supply chain and encompasses connectivity and Dong (2019); Cheong and Suthiwartnarueput (2015);
Transport Facilities) and logistics infrastructure throughout Clott and Hartman (2016); Lee et al. (2018a,b); van Hassel
hinterland et al. (2016); Wu et al. (2019); Zhu et al. (2014); Ferrari et
al. (2006); Nam and Song (2011); Panayides and Song
(2013); Palacio et al. (2016); Xiao and Hu (2017); Wei and
Dong (2019)
Empty Container Management 960 Aims to minimize empty container flow-related Gonzalez-Torre et al. (2013); Wong et al. (2010); Islam
costs and repositioning of containers (2017); Islam et al. (2019)
Total 9,182
(Continued)
Table 1. (Continued).
SUPPLY CHAIN Supply Chain 450 Refers to a system that covers material and Hua et al (2018); Islam (2017); Islam and Olsen (2014); Lam
ORIENTATION information interchange between resources and Zhang (2014); Min, Lim and Park. (2017); Min et al.
of raw materials and final consumers (2013); Panayides and Song (2009); Scholz-Reiter et al.
(2011); Seo et al. (2016); Shin, Thai and Yuen (2018);
Vojdani and Lootz (2012); Yuen and Thai (2016); Clott
and Hartman (2016); van Hassel et al. (2016); Altuntaş-
Vural et al. (2019); Palmieri et al. (2019); Panayides
(2006); Nam and Song (2011); Panayides and Song
(2013)
Functional Advancements of Ports 135 Purports the increasing and changing role of Alavi et al. (2018); Aloini et al. (2019); Lee et al. (2018a,b);
(Logistics and Supply Chain ports in the supply chain system van Hassel et al. (2016); Nam and Song (2011); Panayides
Integration of Ports and Maritime and Song (2013); Panayides and Song (2009); Panayides
Transport) (2006)
Integration of Actors (Shipping 265 Refers to integration of related actors along the Lam and Zhang (2014); Papadopoulou et al. (2010); Yang
Companies, Logistics Service supply chain and Sung (2016); Palmieri et al. (2019); Panayides (2006);
Providers, Interfirm Integration) Nam and Song (2011); Panayides and Song (2013)
Collaboration 1,350 Joint work of the actors to provide high supply Islam (2017); Islam and Olsen (2014); McLaughlin and
chain performance Fearon (2013); Seo et al. (2015); Seo et al. (2016); Silva et
al. (2013); Yuen and Thai (2016); Nam and Song (2011);
Panayides and Song (2013); Wibisono and Jittamai
(2015), McLaughlin and Fearon (2013); Nam and Song
(2011); Venturini et al. (2017); Clott and Hartman, (2016),
Song and Lee (2012)
Coopetition 986 The combination of competition and McLaughlin and Fearon (2013); Song and Lee (2012); Nam
cooperation concepts and Song (2011)
Competition 2,560 Arises between two or more parties that McLaughlin and Fearon (2013); Okorie et al. (2016); Park et
struggle for the common targets which al. (2015); Panayides and Song (2013); Rau and Spinler
cannot be shared (2016); Rau and Spinler (2017)
Coordination 398 Harmonizing the series of activities with the aim Song and Lee (2012); Yuen and Thai (2016); Nam and Song
of achieving single target (2011); Panayides and Song (2013)
Total 6,940
(Continued)
MARITIME POLICY & MANAGEMENT
105
 106

Table 1. (Continued).
S. GÜLMEZ ET AL.

INFORMATION/ Information/Knowledge Management, 3,383 Encompasses operational skills or related Aloini et al. (2019); He and Chu (2014); Heilig and Voß
KNOWLEDGE Information Sharing/Exchange, information systems that enable operations (2017); Lam and Zhang (2014); Zerbino et al. (2019); Nam
Information Integration, Information and services with higher quality and Song (2011); Panayides and Song (2013); Lee and
Systems and Digitalization Song (2015); Lee and Song (2010); Song and Lee (2012);
Kalogeraki et al. (2018a); Nam and Song (2011); Fruth
and Teuteberg (2017)
RISK MANAGEMENT Risk Management 4,201 Managing and identifying the risks, and Grant and Elliott (2018); Gurning and Cahoon (2011); Lam
minimizing vulnerability through negotiating and Bai (2016); Min et al. (2013); Roh et al. (2018); Yang
with the players (2010); Kwesi-Buor et al. (2019); Kalogeraki et al. (2018a);
Kalogeraki et al. (2018a); Panayides and Song (2013)
Security (Cargo Inspection, Visibility, 262 Involves security issues in transportation of Min et al. (2013); Min et al. (2017b); Roh et al. (2018); Yang
Cyber) goods (2010); Munaf and Halida (2015); Yang et al. (2013);
Kalogeraki et al. (2018a; 2018b); Panayides (2006)
Total 4,463
SUST. Sustainability 528 Includes sustainable operations in maritime Davarzani et al. (2016); Fahdi et al. (2019); Li et al. (2018);
transport Psaraftis and Kontovas (2010); Panayides and Song
(2013), Corbett, Wang, and Winebrake (2009); Cariou
(2011); Fagerholt, Laporte, and Norstad (2010);
Notteboom and Vernimmen (2009)
MARKETING Pricing 51 Pricing of transport activities Fang et al. (2018); Park et al. (2015)
Total 222
*Main Category
**Shown in Appendix I
 MARITIME POLICY & MANAGEMENT 107

location of hub ports or fleet deployment optimization. This is followed by case studies (19 studies)
and literature review research (17 studies) which mainly aim to depict the details regarding the
specific topic in maritime logistics field being investigated. In the light of general outlook of the
studies, quantitative research methods were considered as the dominant techniques applied in the
field.

3.1.5. Category selection and material evaluation

The categories in this study were analytically driven from the literature (see Table 1). Based on the
analysis of the research on maritime logistics, 32 subcategories were defined through open coding
process and grouped under 8 main categories to provide a comprehensive explanation of maritime
logistics. Contrary to descriptive analysis, this step adopts the inductive approach to formulate the
categories shown in Table 1. The same authors, who were involved in the coding process according
to the priori scheme, selected categories by analysing the papers’ content thoroughly. While reading
the text, the main theme of the researches and highlighted topics were noted by two independent
coders then the results were compared (open coding). Comparison of open codes was performed
through the matrix coding query function of NVIVO 12. The matrix coding can query data as
words counted, duration counted, coding references, row and column percentages, and coding
presence. Coding references were used to compare the coding differences between the coders. The
coding reliability of this study was achieved as 0.81 which indicates substantial agreement by using
Cohen’s kappa method (Lombard, Snyder-Duch, and Bracken 2010). With the determination of the
codes, three authors performed a preliminary discussion for analysing the codes for similarities and
differences, and conceptually grouping the same codes to form categories (creating categories) (Dey
1993). All categories were deeply analysed and initial categorization was formed (abstraction), then
submitted to an expert panel consisting of both academicians and practitioners. Five academicians
in maritime business administration field (two professors, one associate professor and two assistant
professors); and three practitioners with least 11 years experience; one port operations manager in a
shipping line, one fleet manager, and one intermodal specialist were included as experts. In line with
the panel results, final version of the categories was achieved.

3.2. Findings of the citation and co-citation analyses

Following the content analysis, citation, and co-citation analyses were conducted. In this study,
citation analysis was used to rank and find the citation frequencies of the papers, while co-citation
analysis was rather used to identify whether an article was cited in two different but related articles.
The predefined categories shown in Table 1 motivated the co-citation analysis in visualizing the
intellectual structure of the articles in maritime logistics. Thus, common motifs that the categories
tend to take were determined. The data were analysed by using Gephi, which is known as a useful
tool for researchers to perform graph and network analysis and allow them to perform co-citation
analysis (Chen et al. 2007).
Following the extraction of the final sample, 137 papers resulted in 6157 citations. The extracted
data were checked for duplicate entries, and the remaining 5165 citations were considered for the
co-citation analysis. Gephi tool randomly generated a citation map of articles. A clearer map
requires the positioning of the articles in a more adequate layout to make a distinction on relevant
articles. Considering the difficulty of performing traditional content analysis in a relatively large
sample, clusters that are randomly obtained through co-citation analysis provides greater flexibility
to researchers about understanding and interpreting the given field. However, all references are not
equally important in an article and citations may not be related (Cheng et al. 2018). This may result
in ignoring possible areas when mapping the literature with limited publications. Therefore, the
same analytical categories from the content analysis achieved through in-depth analysis of the
papers’ content were employed to obtain and label the clusters. The network between these clusters
was determined by the Gephi tool according to whether there was a co-citation relationship
108 S. GÜLMEZ ET AL.

Table 2. The Fields of Seminal Research.

Seminal Number of
Clusters Articles
1 35
2 34
3 10
4 14
5 17
6 16
7 8
8 11
Research Field
Port operations (e.g. berth allocation, equipment scheduling, network optimization, port
performance)
Ship operations (ship type, sailing frequency, ship capacity, fleet deployment, ship speed
optimization, slow steaming, cargo mix problem, stowage planning)
Sustainability (e.g. exhaustive emissions, internal combustion engine, exhaust emissions, air
quality, environmental sustainability and radiative climate forcing)
Risk Management (e.g. risk assessment, cost-benefit, decision-making under uncertainty,
Bayesian networks)
Hinterland Logistics (e.g. empty container management)
SCO (supply chain, functional advancements of ports, integration of actors, interfirm integration,
collaboration, cooperation)
Marketing (e.g. pricing policy, service pricing, value co-creation, service recovery, port
marketing, port choice)
Information/Knowledge (e.g. Information/Knowledge Management, Information Sharing/
Exchange, Information Integration, Information Systems and Digitalization)

Figure 5. The positioning of the seminal clusters.

between the given articles. Hence, maritime logistics literature was analysed. These clusters are also
called ‘seminal clusters’ or ‘seminal research areas’ as they have set the base for maritime logistics
studies, ensuring the area with the primary knowledge, tools, concepts, techniques, and theories.
Table 2 shows the seminal research fields and article distribution over the seminal clusters.
Figure 5, indicates the motifs of eight clusters, and thicker arcs between the nodes indicate a
higher density for two articles’ co-occurrence in the other documents’ citation lists.
According to Figure 5, Cluster 5 (hinterland logistics) has more comprehensive networking than
other clusters and is associated with Cluster 1 (port operations), Cluster 2 (ship operations), Cluster
3 (sustainability), Cluster (4) (risk management), Cluster 6 (SCO), Cluster 7 (marketing), and
Cluster 8 (information/knowledge management). Cluster 1 and Cluster 2 have the second-highest
networking between other clusters. However, Clusters 1 (port operations) and 2 (ship operations)
 MARITIME POLICY & MANAGEMENT 109

Table 3 The Top Articles of Each Seminal Research Area

Seminal Cluster 1 Seminal Cluster 2 Seminal Cluster 3
Panayides (2006) Psaraftis and Kontovas (2010) Yang and Chang (2013)
Panayides and Song (2013) Mzee and Gurumo (2012) Psaraftis and Kontovas (2010)
Abou Kasm and Diabat (2019a) Schinas and Stefanakos (2012) Davarzani et al. (2016)
Al-Dhaheri and Diabat (2017) Pujawan et al. (2015) Fahdi and Hachimi (2019)
Zis and Psaraftis (2019) Li et al. (2018)
Seminal Cluster 4 Seminal Cluster 5 Seminal Cluster 6
Panayides and Song (2013) Panayides and Song (2013) Song and Lee (2012)
Gurning and Cahoon (2011) Islam (2017) Papadopoulou et al. (2010)
Yang (2010) Zhu et al. (2014) Panayides and Song (2013)
Roh et al. (2018) Ferrari et al. (2006) Scholz-Reiter et al. (2011)
Grant and Elliott (2018) Nam and Song (2011) Min et al. (2013)
Kwesi-Buor et al. (2019) Wong et al. (2010) Lam and Zhang (2014)
Seminal Cluster 7 Seminal Cluster 8
Park et al. (2015) Nam and Song (2011)
Fang et al. (2018) Panayides and Song (2013)
Lee and Song (2015)
He and Chu (2014)
Lam and Zhang (2014)
Note: References shown in the table is presented in Appendix I

Table 4. The Top Seminal Articles: Betweenness Centrality Analysis.

Author, Year Betweenness Centrality
Panayides (2006) 7.980
Psaraftis and Kontovas (2010) 6.667
Islam (2017) 6.011
Panayides and Song (2013) 5.930
Nam and Song (2011) 5.153
Note: References shown in the table are presented in Appendix I

have thicker arcs that show the greatest frequency compared to Cluster 5 (hinterland logistics).
Some clusters have weak networking, such as Clusters 7 (marketing) and 8 (information/knowl­
edge). The reason that this takes place at the border of the network is the isolation level of these
clusters from the network. The more isolated a cluster is, the more outside of the network it is
located (Davarzani et al. 2016).
To identify the most important articles in the specific clusters, PageRank (PR) measure was used.
PR measure is an algorithm used by Google Search to rank web pages in their search engine results
(Davarzani et al. 2016 2016). When applied to co-citation networks, this algorithm results in higher
weights for articles that are co-cited with various articles and for articles that are co-cited with
highly co-cited articles. It is found that a large number of articles with high PRs obtain high citation
counts. Table 3 shows the top articles within the eight seminal research fields.

3.2.1. Betweenness centrality analysis of the papers

The top studies in every seminal cluster were viewed as the lead articles in each cluster. Although
top articles in the clusters are determined through citation analysis, ranking the articles according to
citation frequencies does not indicate which article dominates the field, which article is the most
influential in the nodes, and which nodes bridge the other nodes in a network. To understand the
leading articles and the fields in maritime logistics, betweenness centrality analysis was performed.
The betweenness centrality measures the centrality in a graph based on the shortest path and it is a
topological metric that regulates the stability and network dynamics and reflects the recognised
leading articles and the positions of their roles in the network (Abbasi, Hossain, and Leydesdorff
2012). The network diameter is the major criterion used to calculate distance when considering the
centrality in articles. Table 4 summarizes the top articles using the betweenness centrality measure.
110 S. GÜLMEZ ET AL.

Figure 6. The Trend of Clusters over Time.

The betweenness centrality ranges from 0 to 7.980 in this network. According to betweenness
centrality values, Cluster 5 has the highest betweenness centrality value because of incorporating
Islam (), Panayides and Song) and Nam and Song) publications with the 6.011, 5.930, and 5.153
values, respectively. The second and third-highest betweenness centrality values are of Cluster 1 and
Cluster 2. Finally, Cluster 7 has the lowest value. As the highest betweenness and centrality means
being an information hub in the network, hinterland logistics can be considered to have more
control over the network. This could be due the reason that information passes through this node.
In this case, hinterland logistics (Cluster 5) has a central role in the maritime logistics field as well as
port operations (Cluster 1) and ship operations (Cluster 2).

3.2.2. Evolution of the clusters over time

Tracing the past tendencies of the field may help to understand the development trend of the
maritime logistics field. Showing the collaborative relationship of the fields over the years can also
provide insight into the future version of the concept (see Figure 6). At the beginning of the research
field, it is observed that the most seeded research area is port operations, and port operations have a
number of cited papers connected to multiple clusters (ship operations, information knowledge,
hinterland logistics, and risk management). There is a strong seed connection between ship
operations (Cluster 2) and port operations (Cluster 1) at every seed cluster from 2010 to 2019.
 MARITIME POLICY & MANAGEMENT 111

Between 2010 and 2013, research on the SCO became more important due to its overall effect on
supply chains.
Cluster 5 (hinterland logistics) is well connected with other clusters. This is mostly because
hinterland logistics should not be isolated from the overall supply chain, and it has an important
role in connecting large and global sea-based networks with hinterland transport systems.
Expanding port hinterlands is more effective and efficient when hinterland systems are associated
with better cooperation and coordination among stakeholders in the supply chain. This shows the
critical role of hinterland logistics in global supply chains. From 2010 to 2016, there was no
academic research connecting sustainability (Cluster 3) and risk management (Cluster 4).
With the introduction of an energy efficiency management plan, a risk-based approach has been
implemented for maritime safety that ensures safe and sustainable shipping operations. Researchers
have long started recognizing marketing as a major function of seaport management and the SCO,
and there has been a small tendency in the scientific contributions for this field over the years.
However, the emerging interest in marketing strategies and policies in maritime logistics is still
alive.

4. Discussion and agenda for future research

The study has made an effort to group the studies in the field of maritime logistics by employing a
content analysis-based review. Panayides 2006) proposed that the main directions for future
research in maritime logistics were integration, liner shipping performance, maritime logistics
value, transport geography and public policy and security. In a similar vein, Panayides and Song
2013) suggested the main categories of maritime logistics research. Based upon the current
literature and authors’ own elaborations in the light of SLR, maritime logistics can be considered
as a term integrating port and ship operations together with hinterland logistics and network
development dimensions enriched by the supply chain orientation (SCO), technology orientation,
risk management and resilience, sustainability and marketing practices. This review and citation
analysis identified several issues that need to be addressed in the maritime logistics research agenda.
Port and ship operations (design, optimization, and planning) studies are considered the most
researched seed areas with the highest percentages to date. This is consistent with the preliminary
studies published in maritime logistics (Nam and Song 2011 ; Lee, Nam, and Song 2012). The design
of the berths/piers, the planning of both ship and port operations and the optimization of ship-,
port- and cargo-related activities are the basic concerns for the main actors involved such as
shipowners/operators, shippers and service providers. Berth allocation is the most studied sub­
category within port operations. Besides, berth allocation addresses some important elements, such
as minimizing the total vessel service times and early/delayed departures and optimizing arrival
times. When the current conditions of ports regarding congestion, limited container yard space in
the terminals, insufficient infrastructure, and superstructure, the connectivity level and perfor­
mance factors of ports are considered (Hyland et al. 2020), it can be assumed that this theme will
continue to attract the attention of both scholars and practitioners. The findings of the study,
parallel to the existing research, indicate that port and ship operations-focused research concen­
trates on solutions to solve problems originating from both ship and port dimensions.
Hinterland logistics and network development are mainly discussed from the viewpoint of
generating an overall value in the institutional framework for port operations under a competitive
port environment. Without the support of SCO, the hinterland logistics would not provide any
options such as inland connectivity and accessibility/connectivity of logistics infrastructures.
Therefore, many scholars have studied how port hinterlands can be integrated with convenient
provisions that aim to increase rail and road capacity and configurations. As interfaces of both sea
and land, effective door-to-door transport with well-designed networks are needed at seaports. In
particular, addressing port accessibility/connectivity within the context of land-based connectivity
in maritime logistics and emphasizing the impacts of ports with railway connections on effective
112 S. GÜLMEZ ET AL.

hinterland activity have strengthened the relationship between port operations and hinterland
logistics (Lee and Song 2015; Panayides and Song 2013). This is also supported by the term port
regionalization (Notteboom and Rodrigue 2005) that emphasises supporting facilities to ports such
as inland ports and intermodal terminals (Khaslavskaya and Roso 2020). Hence, network develop­
ment in the hinterland through such emerging facilities and future research on this theme are
expected to gain importance.
Supply chain orientation is another concept discussed in maritime logistics literature. Since ports
have evolved as one of the most important links in supply chain systems, their strategies based on
integration, collaboration, and coordination with other actors have gained importance. The inte­
gration and collaboration strategies of ports and other actors (freight forwarders, ship operators,
third-party logistics service providers) are also discussed and studied in the related literature. When
all research dimensions and themes are considered, it becomes obvious that SCO is needed in all
aspects of maritime logistics. For instance, in hinterland logistics and network development, railway
and road operators need to collaborate in order to achieve a seamless intermodal transportation
system. Furthermore, coopetition is another issue to consider in terms of the competitive dynamics
of these actors. Maritime transport is required to keep supply chains and trade flows during and
outside of crises connected. Due to the openness to vulnerability, further research is required in
terms of designing a supply chain from the perspective of maritime transport. With respect to SCO,
future research could consider studies related to risk management and resilience since unexpected
and risky conditions in maritime logistics operations may endanger the collaboration and coordi­
nation among actors.
Risk management and resilience are also critical since risk may emerge in the system and result in
unfavourable conditions in maritime logistics operations. Port security risks and assessments of
various risks that may impact ships, cargoes or port infrastructures and superstructures have also
been investigated by scholars. Considering the risk management theme with the resilience concept,
it has become obvious that maritime logistics can be affected by external influences, and there is an
increasing need to investigate how resilient the maritime logistics systems such as those of ships,
ports and hinterland networks are in order to mitigate risk. Future research should consider how
such conditions (not only Covid-19 but also other possible virus outbreaks, catastrophic disasters,
economic shocks, trade disputes) influence the current and future development of the main themes
associated with maritime logistics in this study.
Technology orientation is a component of maritime logistics research. Although the information/
knowledge theme has been highlighted in the current research, according to the authors, this trend
will be transformed into a technology orientation phase in which more innovation-based studies
and digitalization emanating from Industry 4.0 applications in maritime logistics will gain impor­
tance. Many emerging topics such as open innovations (Rupo et al. 2018), advanced manufacturing
for port design, digital applications in related actors’ operations, and crowdsourcing may be themes
of future research. Technology orientation encompassing visibility and digitalization is expected to
be an umbrella term not only for ship and port operations, but also for other research topics
discussed in the agenda (hinterland logistics, SCO, sustainability, risk management, and
marketing).
Sustainability has attracted considerable attention in the overall maritime transport literature;
specifically, maritime logistics has received its share of studies. Emission reduction strategies and
analysis of the trade-offs between various indicators such as vessel speed, fleet size, and cost factors
are the main subcategories considered under the sustainability theme. Research opportunities for
future research can be the analysis of sustainability practices from technology orientation lens
(innovations) (Rupo et al. 2018). The environmental perspective is still popular in the sustainability
concept and has connections with port and ship operations. In ship operations, the coercive factor is
mostly IMO regulations. In particular, regulations on reducing ship-based emissions and the
requirement for low-sulphur maritime transport direct sustainability studies in the maritime
logistics domain. Today, larger vessels need larger equipment at ports, larger storage areas, and
 MARITIME POLICY & MANAGEMENT 113

larger yards, which lead to more cargo traffic, and this means that handling container ships may
cause hinterland congestion.
Marketing is considered to be the most neglected theme within the maritime logistics literature.
Marketing studies concentrating on ports constitute the majority of the studies investigated. Crucial
components such as service, competition, and costs have extended the function of hinterland
logistics throughout the supply chain (Nam and Song 2011 ; Wei and Dong 2019). From a
marketing perspective, the use of social media in various fields of maritime logistics has recently
been observed (Bitiktas and Tuna 2020). However, consideration of social media strategies of
seaports is limited and this is viewed as a promising area that needs investigation. Future research
can be conducted by focusing both for more on the merits of social media usage in marketing
strategies, CSR activities or other dimensions of related maritime logistics businesses. In line with
this approach, stakeholder marketing is viewed as an emerging research field in maritime logistics
(Notteboom et al. 2015). Although ports with their multistakeholder perspectives have made efforts
to conduct sustainability-related strategies (Denktas-Sakar and Karatas-Cetin 2012), strategies to
achieve solid engagement with various stakeholders from the perspective of other actors in
maritime logistics can be mentioned as a promising future research area. Lastly, branding has
been viewed as an emerging research area in maritime logistics in recent years that supports the
inevitable importance of determining branding strategies for actors. Brand architecture and brand
portfolios for maritime operators (Notteboom, Satta, and Parola 2020) and place branding (Rutter
et al. 2018) for ports are emerging topics.

5. Academic and practical implications

In accordance with the main research agenda topics discussed, some academic considerations can
also be made. First, the study extends and supports the review of maritime logistics provided by
Panayides 2006) and Panayides and Song 2013) and emerging topics are identified. Hinterland
logistics and integration; sustainability; risk management are overlapping issues with such seminal
studies. The study also updates the current research in the field by categorizing the studies and
reflecting the research streams. For example, SCO encompassing various actions and strategies is
considered as an emerging research stream. Moreover, the inevitable role of port operations not
only from the port performance perspective but also from the port design-related perspective (e.g.
berth allocation, yard assignment) is highlighted. Since hinterland logistics is found to have more
comprehensive networking than other clusters, it deserves scholar attention particularly in terms of
both land and foreland connectivity of ports. Technology orientation has emerged as a topic that is
expected to gain more scholar interest by sheding light on the move towards digitalised services in
the industry. Marketing is still neglected in the current research and there is room for marketing
discipline to be incorporated in maritime logistics research. Finally, this study aims to offer a brief
overview of the existing knowledge and elaboration of maritime logistics.
From a managerial standpoint, findings of the study can assist practitioners in understanding the
basic components of maritime logistics concept. Findings may serve to alert mainly seaports and
ship operators of the need to achieve a true integration of port and ship operations since strong seed
connection between ship and port operations is observed. Seaport/terminals may re-consider their
strategies by applying the techniques employed in the existing studies in-house or by consulting and
adapting the suggestions provided in order to increase the productivity of maritime logistics
operations. In the light of the importance given to ship design-related issues (e.g. fleet planning,
ship type, capacity) as well as operational (ship scheduling) and commercial factors (cargo mix) in
the literature, shipowners/operators need to increase their awareness of such topics for productivity
concerns. Hinterland logistics is still an important research field and critical success factor speci­
fically for seaports/terminals and liner shipping companies/forwarders. Inland logistics costs are
viewed as the most critical area left to decrease costs (Notteboom and Rodrigue 2005) and on-time
delivery is still an important performance criterion. Hence, service providers in road and railway
114 S. GÜLMEZ ET AL.

transportation need to re-consider their service packages, tangible and intangible resources to meet
the needs of their customers. This also applies to shipping lines and ports as well. Since practitioners
at all levels of maritime logistics are expected to face greater environmental uncertainty and
complexity, they should reconsider their resilience capabilities and develop some measures such
as contingency plans and emergency guidelines to protect themselves from future vulnerabilities
that decrease their overall performance. Practitioners may spend more effort becoming available on
social media in their marketing communications as well as building successful branding strategies
and increasing interactions not only with their customers but also with their stakeholders.

6. Conclusion
The maritime logistics concept has gained considerable interest from both practitioners and
scholars, and the number of studies published (137 articles) in the last fourteen years has increased
rapidly. The results of this study support that there is an increasing trend with regard to publica­
tions from the introduction of the concept to today’s maritime logistics research environment.
Integer-mixed planning, case studies, literature reviews and mathematical-based approaches are
considered the leading methods employed. Our findings are somewhat parallel to Shi and Li (2016)
who conduct a comprehensive review of maritime transport research from 2000 to 2014 and
conclude that there is an increasing interest in quantitative research with the involvement of
mathematics, statistics and computer science. In addition, since the maritime logistics concept
started to gain importance as of 2005, studies concentrating on the definition and boundaries of the
field such as literature reviews and case studies (Lee and Song 2010 ; Lee, Nam, and Song 2012;
Panayides and Song 2010) have also been conducted. While there have been valuable studies
shedding light on the research directions and patterns of maritime logistics (Panayides 2006;
Panayides and Song 2013), to date, there have been no systematic reviews or citation analysis
aiming to provide an overall understanding of the research themes between the launch of concept in
2005 and 2019. The major implication emanating from this study is that the focus of interest has
shifted in some basic areas of maritime logistics research. Although risk, environmental perfor­
mance, and CSR topics (Panayides and Song 2013) were also included as categories in our research
(as risk management, CSR and environmental performance are included in sustainability), some
additional categories in accordance with the changing trends were observed. The first additional
category is port operations that focus considerably on operational issues such as berth allocation,
block relocation/cargo sequencing compared to port performance and port equipment-related
issues such as equipment performance and scheduling. Ship operations were also viewed as a
critical theme in the maritime logistics domain. Since actions taken regarding ship scheduling,
cargo mix or vessel maintenance programming have a certain influence on the overall performance
of the system, many scholars have paid considerable attention to such topics. Moreover, ship and
port operations clusters have been found to have the greatest frequency in studies. The findings of
this study suggest that hinterland logistics, as the third most studied theme, should be considered
since it is situated close to the centre of the network in seminal research studies due to its
connections with other clusters.
The study proposes the basic paths for future research, which are mainly built upon various
analyses conducted in the research. Trend identification and setting research agendas play critical
roles in recognizing basic emerging topics and some neglected themes that may require more
attention in the future. For example, an increasing research interest in hinterland logistics can guide
not only ports but also railway operators, logistics service providers, or shipping lines on the
importance of costs associated with empty container flows on land. Such an approach can provide
a comprehensive evaluation of the main research themes and research directions in maritime
logistics by supporting scholars, practitioners, and publishers in making more informed decisions.
Since this study has an exploratory nature, the motivation was to understand the main categories
investigated using an SLR of the concepts, content analysis processes, and citation analysis. The
 MARITIME POLICY & MANAGEMENT 115

following research may shed light on an in-depth investigation of each topic through various
research methods such as in-depth interviews, focus groups with experts or surveys. More databases
with additional articles can also be used to enlarge the scope of the research. Since maritime logistics
is an emerging field with limited identification of its boundaries, many other studies from different
disciplines and academic journals can be included to understand the main research streams. Delphi
research may also be employed to achieve a wider perspective and consensus on the categories
highlighted. Seed clusters and intersections between the clusters can be analysed in detail in future
research in order to identify the basic connections.
This study is also subject to some limitations. Considering the number of databases employed in
this study, only two databases, the Web of Science and Scopus, were used to achieve an outlook of
the field. The exclusion of books, conference proceedings, and dissertations is also a limitation of
the study. The study has aimed to capture the current outlook of the maritime logistics literature,
however, more studies and various approaches could arise in the future.

Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

ORCID
Seçil Gülmez http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4342-4386
Gül Denktaş Şakar http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1072-6150
Sedat Baştuğ http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7121-2882

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